Three weeks passed by in a blur: I had been here a month now and things were looking up.

Training had been going so well. We had to start gradually, but once I was healed on day five, we got back into it. I could run five miles now easily and I was so proud of myself. I was becoming better in combat too and was getting more of a figure and "meat on my bones" as Sean said.

I had not spoken to Phoenix since, and it was really depressing to me. Although I could sense him nearby or see him in the distance, he never came near. The closest he had been was the far end of the training grounds when I ran circuits through the forest. It felt like he was avoiding me and I was bracing myself for the rejection. Maybe he felt guilty that he was going to reject me, so to feel better, wanted me to be stronger? A weak wolf can die from soulmate rejection, so I wouldn't be surprised.

"Are you ready?" Sean slid into my vision.

I chuckled and nodded, wrapping my hands in bandages. "I'm warmed up too."

Kate and I had been working on my stammer. I was improving immensely with the comfort of her and Sean helping me. He accompanied me whenever he could and I used him as practice.

"Let's do it then." He grinned.

His hand found the small of my back as we walked our way towards the sparring circle. The teenagers that had mocked me before were watching as I approached the girl, Tia, who had beaten me. Today I was going to win. I was determined.

With a low whistle, Sean began our spar. We circled for a while before she jumped and attacked. However, this time I counterattacked, and she squealed in surprise. I threw punches and kicks and blocked her moves and advances. I eventually got her on the ground and pinned her in the circle. It was easy; I was better. I had won, finally.

The teenagers clapped and congratulated me on finally winning and I blushed in embarrassment as I helped my opponent off the floor. We continued with me sparring with a few others, my adrenaline burning with a passion. I successfully beat all the new shifters and I felt so proud of myself, even Sean clapping in the background. I thanked them and thanked my wolf for being so strong for both of us.

"Took you long enough." He teased.

I rolled my eyes, barely hiding my satisfied smile. "What next?"

He contemplated. "How about we go train on the main grounds? I have to oversee the men at 10, but you can join in some things if you want. Or the women are on the ground right next to us."

I paused, hesitant to reply because it meant I had to go around pack members and train. They still weren't keen on me and I had no friend other than Sean, so it was anxiety-provoking in the least. Not to mention Phoenix would most likely be there today since Sean is with me right now.

Shaking my thoughts, I took a deep breath. This is my pack now. I have to be brave. I can't treat myself as lower as we are equal members.

'You got this.' My wolf whispered.

"You know what, let's do it." I nodded.

He grinned in triumph and gestured for me to follow him. My nerves built, and I chewed on my lip again, fingers twirling together in front of me. We rounded the large fitness studio from where the new shifters were to approach the much larger field of the adults.

My eyes widened as the sounds of heavy breathing and skin-impacting leather met my ears. The clinking of weights agitated my wolf's newer hearing, and I grimaced. I could smell the testosterone building as 10 am neared. The men obviously felt eager to train alongside the females.

The field was bright in the sunshine. The rays warmed my skin, and I was glad I wore a sports bra for training as the heat grew. As we neared, some men stopped when they saw us coming and it made me stagger. My eyes widened at the sheer amount of people and I ran to Sean's side, grabbing his shirt to hide behind.

He chuckled but continued to drag me over to one of my big fears; strangers staring at me. Sounds pathetic, I know right? But when you live a life that is so frowned upon being an Omega, to being bullied and hated for who I was...It's hard to build confidence in front of so many powerful wolves.

My hair stood on edge as we finally reached the training ground. We were centred in the middle of the two groups when the goosebumps grew.

Turning my head to the root of the problem, I saw Phoenix leaving the fitness studio with two females chatting away with him. He held a stern expression as they batted their eyelashes at him, which caused my wolf to grumble. I tuned in my hearing to see what all the flirting was about.

"I'm so happy you'll be training us today, Alpha. I can't wait to show you how strong I've gotten. It's been so long since you watched us."

"Oh, and me Alpha, I've gotten very flexible." The other giggled.

I suppressed a small growl, my hands tightening on Sean's arm. I could see Phoenix's eyes turn to me and harden, but I turned my face into Sean's back as I calmed my jealous thoughts down. Sean's hand came up and patted my wrist, bringing me out of my thoughts.

Realising I was grasping him so hard whilst he spoke to the men, I gently released my nails from his skin and chose to just stand beside him instead. I couldn't hear what he was saying because my attention was on the six-foot-five muscle making its way toward me.

I chewed my lip nervously, choosing to look up from the ground next to Sean to see all the men standing listening to whatever he was saying. A few kept staring at me intensely, a couple studying me almost too comfortable. It made me cringe down at my discoloured skin and scarring. Reaching down to my large t-shirt around my waist, I untied it and slipped it on. It hung to just past my hips, the leggings I wore covering the rest of me. I hate men sometimes.

I noticed their backs straightened and soon felt the warmth of the mate bond as Phoenix stepped beside me. He didn't say a word as Sean continued to talk about the training schedule. They were to train in cardio and strength today, no battling or matches until tomorrow. I hoped to catch onto the schedules, but it meant integrating more and that scared me.

My hand tightened in on itself as the urge to look up at Phoenix intensified. He had ignored me for weeks, barely gave me any attention and left me like a lamb to slaughter in his pack. A lamb among wolves. But the urge to just glimpse that face, of those flawless cheekbones and hazel eyes...

One brief look wouldn't hurt, right?

I adjusted my hair and turned to peek up at him. He was a lot closer than I thought, his forearm almost touching my shoulder. I was still close to Sean and with him on my other side, I never felt so small. But somehow I never felt safer.

Trailing my eyes along with the tight black shirt he wore, I chewed my lip again. My eyes travelled up expecting to see his well-kept hair, but it sent me into shock as I found his dark wolf's eyes staring down at me intensely already. The surprise of him looking at me causes me to bite my lip harshly, drawing blood. I frowned and licked it away, casting my gaze back to him once more to see him still intensely staring down at me.

What's crawled up his butt...

'He's jealous.' My wolf purred.

Jealous? I almost laughed. He has ignored me for weeks. He is not jealous.

She chortled. 'Oh, he is. He is jealous. You and Sean. His wolf is grumbling all about it.'

I frowned and cast a glance to see Phoenix now staring ahead of us. Jealous? He has no right to be, not when he's away from me all the time, ignoring me and giving other people his attention.

Sean finished his speech finally and looked up at Phoenix with a stern expression. I felt his arm come around my back, his thumb rubbing my right arm in comfort. Sean knew of my feelings. Since he was the only one to know about the mate situation- he was the only one I could talk to about it.

"I will oversee the females today." Phoenix's harsh voice made me jump. "There will be no goofing around. Stick to Sean's schedule and I will have no problems. Begin."

With a wave of his hand, the men dispersed, bowing their heads from the intensity that came with the alpha command. Oh, his wolf was annoyed alright, his voice was raspier and his eyes were dark, his back tense too.

"Nova, what do you feel like doing?" Sean asked me softly, his hand still on my back.

I turned my gaze to meet his, his eyes soft as they looked down at me. I scrunched up my nose, eyeing the group of women that were standing warming up or staring at the three of us, particularly at me.

I took a deep breath, "I'll see what I can do."

I heard Phoenix's sharp intake of breath, but Sean spoke. "You got this, just try running today."

I blushed and shoved him playfully, causing my back to touch Phoenix's arm. Sparks erupted and made me stagger, but I stood my ground and stepped away from him.

"I recommend you stand beside Molly. The girl with the pink flower workout clothes." Sean mused as he pointed in her general direction. "She will make a good friend."

I smiled in thanks and watched as he winked at me and walked away. Sighing, I glanced at Phoenix once more to see he was back to staring at me. It was winding me up. His wolf needed to back off with the intimidating trick. I felt my confidence surge. He brought out the worst in me.

"Can you do anything else other than stare at me?" I snapped.

His eyes widened in shock and I left him there, almost gaping as I walked my way over to the girl Sean told me about.

Molly had mid-length dark brown hair in a ponytail and huge blue eyes. A few piercings lined her face, mainly in her nose and ears, but she was a bubbly one. She jumped from foot to foot. The pale pink crop and leggings emphasised her curvy figure.

I found my place beside her, hoping to just be quiet, but she was already looking at me, a wide smile on her face.

"Hi, I'm Molly! I've not seen you around here before. Do you like books?" She held out her hand to me.

I eyed it before I shook it. "I-I-I'm Nova. I like art."

Her eyes widened with joy. "What kind?"

I shrugged, nerves diminishing. "I l-like to draw...and-and paint... sometimes."

She laughed. "I bet you're good, too. I can paint good but not great. Being a warrior daughter though, I've been forced, kinda —— forced, to focus on training. But have you seen my body? Do I look mean and scary to you? Sure, I can be mean if someone breaks the spine of my Harry Potter books or eats my last chocolate, but look at me!"

I giggled, my hand covering my face at her description. "I think you look badass."

Her eye lightened, and she continued with her jumping warm-up. "Nova, I know right now that we're gonna be good friends. But I have to say, if the Alpha keeps staring at me I may be dead by today so we better make this the best friendship yet."

I smiled but turned my attention to the man in question. Since Molly was standing a few feet in front of me, it seemed like she was the one being stared at. But I knew better.

His eyes met mine with a stern glare; the black was still prominent. My wolf shrunk away, feeling guilty for the random outburst I gave him. I didn't even have control, it just slipped out. This man irritated me, just his presence alone was annoying me. Weirdly. I'd known him for about five weeks and he had the decency to stare at me like that when he has nothing to do with me!

I glared down at the floor as he let out a low whistle to call everyone's attention. "Ladies, today we are focusing on cardio. We are going to do mixed-level workouts. So, surnames starting A-H you are on swimming; I want you to swim the entire circumference of Koi Lake until your pedometer reads seven miles."

I looked around nervously, a what-watch? I didn't have a pedometer watch... mine was normal.

"Surnames I through R you have running! I want you all to grab your pedometer watch and run ten miles around pack grounds. Time yourself." Women groaned. "And finally S through Z, you're on cycling. I want fifteen miles around pack lands, so keep track... Once we are all back and done, we will have a ten-minute cool-down before we start with HIIT exercises. No backing down or I will force you to complete extra training after this, courtesy of head warrior Sean."

Many women groaned, but all synchronised their watches. I looked around in nervousness, not having the guts to speak out to Phoenix again. I asked Molly instead.

Patting her shoulder, she turned to me, "Ugh, I have to cycle. Boo me and my fat ass."

I chuckled, but nervously wrung my fingers. "I don't have a-a... wah-watch."

She frowned. "Oh! You can just go inside the fitness studio and there's a locker full of them! Go in those double doors and then go to the second door on the right. It's the storage room!"

"Five minutes ladies!" Phoenix boomed. "Wake up!"

"Oh-okay thanks, Molly." I smiled shyly.

She nodded and continued to stretch her limbs. As I walked away, I could hear her grumble about hating sitting on a bike seat cause it hurts her butt. I couldn't help but chuckle as I reached the double doors.

Opening them, the smell of disinfectant was strong despite the many air fresheners. The faint smell of Phoenix and those two females lingered, but I made my way down the narrow hallway to the second door labelled STORE.

Going inside, I flicked the windowless room's light on and used my initiative. There was an entire wall of lockers, but thankfully, upon further inspection, I found they had been labelled. I found the one that read Smart Watches and assumed that's what I needed. I went to open the locker to find it locked and frowned in confusion.

Looking around the room for guidance, I saw a poster that read a deposit must be made before I can purchase a watch. I sagged- I didn't have any money!

My anxiety crept up on me. My breathing shortened and my head felt light. Just as I was about to sit on the floor, the door opened. My head jolted to see Phoenix standing there, dark eyes glancing over my hunched figure, my hands on my knees.

I opened my mouth to say something, anything, but all that came out was a whoosh of breath as I felt my body forced backwards. Tingles erupted on my torso, lighting my body on fire as it hummed.

Blinking a few times to gain my surroundings, I found someone shoving deep me into a large, black-shirted chest, arms securing themselves on either side of my shoulder.

Looking up from where I stayed pressed against the locker, I found Phoenix intensely staring at me.

"Mine." He grumbled.

My eyes widened when his face came to rub itself along with mine. I could feel him breathing in my scent, his breath hot on my skin and giving me goosebumps. What was he doing?

"Ph-Phoenix... I-I-"

He grumbled and pulled his head away to look down at me. I became speechless at the closeness we shared. His body was right against mine, only a few inches between my face and his as he hunched over me. One hand that was blocking me against the locker moved to push a stray hair out of my face.

"Do you know how hard it has been to stay away from you?" He whispered.

My mouth parted in shock, but no words fell out. I wanted to ask him why, but I couldn't form the words. His fingers traced my jaw, a fiery touch along my skin that ignited something inside of me when it trailed down my neck and collarbone. He was so close... I could almost kiss him.

"To see you so close to an unmarked male... drives my wolf crazy. It should be me you cling to, not him." He rasped.

I furrowed my eyebrows. So he was jealous.

"Phoenix I-

He shook his head and leaned away. I felt cold without him there, heating my skin. The pinpricks he left behind were fading. He sighed and ran his hand through his hair.

I kept quiet as he moved to the side and unlocked the watch locker. "Pick one out."

I hesitated as I watched his body language. I was so confused and so flustered. But I leaned away from the locker and stepped in front of him to look at the watch's left.

Most of them were black or pink like Molly's. But one in the far back was a soft, dark green, and that's the one I chose.

Pulling it out, I looked up at him through my lashes. "But I don't ha-have-"

He shook his head again, shutting the locker behind me before the same hand cupped my jaw. I swallowed and his eyes followed the movement.

"You never will need to pay for things again. Whatever it is, I will get it for you. My wolf and I cannot bear to see his mate without, or working to live." He sighed and moved away. "It's already set up. Just turn it on and come outside. It's yours now."

I watched his large retreating figure as he left me in the small storage room. I was utterly confused. It felt like someone had replaced my brain and left me just a body.

I could hear his commanding voice through the walls of the building saying we were about to line up. Snapping out of my daydream, my head a mess, I clipped on my watch and left my old one behind as I hurried my way out of the studio.

Sean was nearby, talking to Beta Charlie quietly. As I approached, they both went quiet, and I blushed profusely. I saw their noses twitch and Beta Charlie grinned in amusement.

"Nova," Sean commented. "If you can't do the ten, don't push yourself. It's human form only, so you need to take it easy. I'd be the punisher if you fail, so don't worry about it."

"Thank you, Sean." I nodded gratefully and gave Beta Charlie a small bow. "Beta Charlie."

He chuckled, "Charlie to you Nova."

I blushed but nodded and jogged to the group of women that were getting bunched up to go running. I saw Molly swinging her leg over a ruby red bicycle and gave her a small smile. She was flustered already.

I dreaded the ten-mile run, only because I only had completed just five with Sean recently. I knew I was going to struggle. The surrounding girls gave me dirty looks, a few curious ones. I was new after all; I had to prove myself. But Phoenix had restricted me to just human form for the time being, and I wasn't sure how much longer my wolf would stay down. She was dominant. Whatever genetics she had were strong, like she was. And her demand for respect as their Luna was almost suffocating.

The girl that cornered me before sneered down at me, her nostrils flaring. "I thought I told you to back off from Alpha, you whore."

I frowned. "I-I-I-

She laughed. "Cat got your tongue? Oh, wait sorry, more like ghoul!"

A couple of other girls giggled along with her, and I frowned, dropping my gaze. My wolf was vibrating in irritation, grumbling in my mind.

"Ladies, enough." Phoenix's sudden voice made some of us jump as he growled at them. "There will be no tension today. Everyone else has already started. So go, now."

They huffed and turned to run off. I waited for a heartbeat moment so I wasn't stuck beside them, but a hand grasping my arm pulled me back. Oh, those tingles made my toes curl.

I turned to look up at him with questioning eyes. He was so bipolar; I was getting whiplash.

"Be safe." Was all he said before he walked away.

I frowned but nodded more to myself as I jogged in the direction everyone else went. Let's get this over with...

*******

wc: 3600

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